184INCREASING GROUND WATERDEPENDENCY AND DECLININGWATER QUALITY IN URBANWATER SUPPLY - ACOMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OFFOUR SOUTH INDIAN CITIES

K V Raju, N Latha

S Manasi

INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE2007

WORKINGPAPER

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INCREASING GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY ANDDECLINING WATER QUALITY IN URBAN WATERSUPPLY - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FOUR

SOUTH INDIAN CITIES1

K.V. Raju, N. Latha, S. Manasi

AbstractThis paper examines the extent of groundwater dependency and quality status inHubli, Dharwad, Belgaum and Kolar cities in the context of National Water Policy.Household survey indicated dependency of 30, 51, 37 and 100 percent while thequality analysis indicated 45, 42, 22 and 97 percent as non-potable in the abovecities respectively. Water markets captured a turnover of Rs. 50 crore in Hubli,Dharwad and Belgaum whereas in Bagepalli taluk, Kolar district alone, was Rs.120 million/annum.

IntroductionThe importance of groundwater for the existence of human society cannot

be overemphasised. Groundwater is the major source for drinking,

agricultural and industrial use. As the demand for water has increased

over the years, providing safe and quality drinking water on a sustainable

basis has been a tough mission to the authorities. Common problems

prevail in larger cities while smaller cities are moving towards similar

trends. The Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) has estimated that the

demand for water in the top 35 cities is expected to double as the

population of these cities would shoot up from 107 million (2001) to 202

million in 2021 (CSH Occasional Paper, 2002). Widespread water shortage

problems have resulted in increased dependency on groundwater with

tapping the resources to unsustainable levels.

1 The paper is based on two larger studies supported by the International WaterManagement Institute – Tata Program (for Kolar city) and Karnataka UrbanInfrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (for Hubli, Dharwad andBelgaum cities). Both these studies were carried out by the Centre for EcologicalEconomics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change,Bangalore, India.

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Groundwater is an important and integral part of the hydrological

cycle and its availability depends on the rainfall and recharge conditions.

Water utilisation projection for the year 2000, put the groundwater usage

around 50 per cent in India and 80 per cent of rural water supply for

domestic use. India’s crisis faced in both rural and urban areas has been

caused mainly due to improper management of water resources. There

has been lack of adequate attention to water conservation, efficiency in

water use, water re-use, groundwater recharge, and ecosystem

sustainability. In Karnataka, out of 208 urban local bodies that come

under Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, 41 depend on

groundwater. Groundwater crisis, largely the result of human actions,

like for instance, uncontrolled use of the borewell technology at high rate

where often recharge is insufficient. During the past two decades, the

water level in several parts of the country has been falling rapidly due to

increased exploitation. For example, in Karnataka, 34 taluks are considered

as ‘critical’ due to overexploitation. Intense competition among users -

agriculture, industry, and domestic sectors is driving down the groundwater

table drastically.

The situation is aggravated by the problem of pollution or

contamination. Aquifer pollution from both point and nonpoint sources

is becoming extensive worldwide. Nearly 45 million people around the

world are affected by water pollution marked by excess fluoride, arsenic,

iron, or the ingress of salt water (State of Environment Report, Karnataka,

2003).

In the Gediz basin of Anatolia, Turkey, nonpoint pollutants mostly

agrochemicals, have polluted the groundwater (Shah et al 2000). In

Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Hungary, India, Mexico,

Peru and the United States of America, arsenic in groundwater has been

detected at concentration greater than the Guideline Value, 0.01 mg/L or

the prevailing national standard. According to British Geological Survey,

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in 1998 of shallow tube-wells in 61 districts of Bangladesh, 73 per cent of

the samples were above prescribed limit (World Health Organisation,

2001). Environment Protection Agency of The United States of America

has estimated that roughly 13 million of the population of USA, mostly in

the western states, are exposed to arsenic in drinking- water at 0.01 mg/

L. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs210/en/index.html).

A survey by Central Pollution Control Board of India in 1995

identified 22 sites in 16 states of India as critical for groundwater pollution,

the primary cause being industrial effluents. A recent survey undertaken

by the Centre for Science and Environment from eight places in Gujarat,

Andhra Pradesh and Haryana reported traces of heavy metals such as

lead, cadmium, zinc and mercury. Excessive withdrawal from coastal

aquifers has led to induced pollution in the form of seawater intrusion in

Kachchh, Saurashtra, Chennai and Calicut. Waterborne diseases

constituted 80 per cent of the health problems in India. Mandays lost

due to such easily preventable disease are estimated to be around 73

millions (Wishwakarma, 1993) and water-borne diseases are the causes

of nearly 15 lakh deaths in India annually (Deccan Herald, Jan 26, 1992).

Safe drinking water and sanitation facilities provided although

not 100 per cent in the country is reported to have considerably brought

down the incidence of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentry and

diarrhoea (Wishwakarma, 1993). Diarrhoea remains one of the

commonest illness of children and also a leading cause of childhood

mortality in developing countries. It is estimated that over 1,000 million

episodes and 3 million deaths occur each year among children of less

than five years of age in the developing countries (Bern et al., 1992,

WHO). Many of these children die due to dehydration, dysentery and

malnutrition. Diarrhoeal disease also represents an economic burden

since children with diarrhoea admitted to hospital are often treated with

expensive intravenous fluids and ineffective drugs, despite simple and

effective treatment measures are available (WHO, 1992).

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All the above-mentioned instances bring to the forefront the

increasing levels of groundwater contamination. What seems relevant in

the given context is to understand the status of groundwater quality and

take adequate steps to rectify the problem. In this context, various

institutional mechanisms have been evolved in different parts of the

country and efforts taken to tackle the situation. However, most of the

problems are attended to only when these problems are acute and brought

to the limelight during critical situations. It is important to know these

instances periodically to facilitate better decision making to act upon the

situation. In this backdrop, this study was taken up in Hubli, Dharwad,

Belgaum and Kolar2 (for details on study area, see, Annex 1) focusing

mainly on understanding the groundwater situation - draft and quality.

The paper is divided into four sections. First section gives a picture

about the groundwater dependency in all the four cities. Second section

addresses the impact of extraction on the quality issues and its status in

the respective cities while the third section specifies the emerging trends

and issues; followed by conclusion in the fourth section.

2 Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum known for scarcity and unreliable water supply formore than three decades and Kolar facing severe scarcity and contaminationwere identified for the study. The Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Developmentand Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), who funded the current study, assist the urbanagencies in the state in planning, financing and providing expertise to developurban infrastructure. One of the aims is to provide adequate and safe water andproper sanitation to all the urban areas. KUIDFC intends to take up the 24/7water supply in Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum and also would like to understandthe situation and trends before implementing the scheme. Whereas Kolar, fundedby IWMI was chosen to understand the extent of contamination ward wise so thatbetter decisions could be taken to address the crisis. Kolar Municipal Corporationalso aided in funding the sample analysis.

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Map: Study Area

Kolar City Map

Source: www.mapsofindia.com

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Increasing Dependency On Groundwater

Water supply for Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum is a major issue that is

often debated. Similar to any other city, urban population resultant of

growing urbanization, is not new to these cities. However, the problem

has existed for more than three decades and has become more acute in

recent years. Water supply to Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum cities is both

from surface and groundwater unlike Kolar where it is completely

dependent on groundwater as described in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Water Supply in study cities (in MLD)

Surface Water Quantity of TotalCities Sources Quantity Actual quantity groundwater quantity of Lpcd

supplied reaching the supplied waterconsumers supplied

Hubli Malaprabhaand Neersagar 64 26 9 35 66

Dharwad Malaprabha 32 19 3 22 70

Belgaum Rakkaskoppaand Hidkal 47.25 19 1 29 71

Kolar - - - 7 7 40

Source: Based on field survey

For Hubli and Dharwad, the bulk water supply is drawn from the

Malaprabha and Neerasagara reservoirs. Responsibilities were divided

between two agencies, where Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage

Board (KUWSDB) was responsible for bulk supply and maintenance of

water supply systems and Hubli Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC)

was responsible for operations and maintenance and supplied water up

to the consumer point. This led to the interdependence, co-ordination

problems and conflicts between agencies during execution of work. It

was difficult to see any of the agencies having an overview, rather each

agency blamed the other for inefficiency. Although efforts were made to

resolve, the effect seems to be minimal. Implications of problems in one

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agency will trigger the problem in another. For example – HDMC was

tied up in spending; according to the KMC Act of 1976, it cannot do any

execution work beyond 50 lakhs. So, they cannot attend to major repairs

and were dependent on KUWSDB. Another major problem faced by

HDMC was high volume of unaccounted for water, which drastically

curtailed the supply till 2002. Though 64 MLD of surface water was

drawn, the actual quantity supplied is 26 MLD in Hubli and 19 MLD in

Dharwad excluding 40 per cent of unaccounted for water. Hence, it was

considered important to have a single institutional set up and currently

KUWSDB is responsible for the management of water completely. As

KUWSDB focuses only on water management, it has organised its work

in a professional way in addressing the issues of water. The problems

are being addressed and being resolved in a phased manner by various

interventions. Although small, the interventions in the arena of water

management by the KUWSDB have been significantly positive. For

example: reduction in leakages by installing 25 mm air valves at joints at

a regular interval of 200 meters helped in releasing the air, thus avoiding

leakages. Such interventions were made at 40 locations. This has not

only avoided leakages, but has improved water supply and helped in

reducing the avoidable burden on the engineers who otherwise would

have to rush to leakage spots to rectify the problems. This has helped in

equitable distribution amongst the households and also in saving water.

Apart from the surface water source, the KUWSDB is supplying

groundwater by maintaining 1,200 borewells in Hubli and 495 in Dharwad.

The total volume of water supplied by the agency is 35 MLD in Hubli and

22 MLD in Dharwad with the per capita supply of 66 and 70 lpcd

respectively which is far below the requirement recommended by the

State Water Policy 2002 of 135 lpcd for City Corporation areas.

However, in Belgaum, the responsibility is still between KUWSDB

and City Municipal Corporation, in which the former is involved in bulk

supply from the sources and the latter is responsible for distributing the

water to the consumer. The city is served by Rakaskoppa and Hidkal

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reservoirs with the supply of 54 MLD. The water is supplied once in 3 to

4 days and varies across wards. During summer crisis, frequency of supply

is once in 10 days. Duration of water supply ranges between 2 and 4

hours usually. The Corporation also adopts to supply water through

tankers during crisis since the last few years.

In Kolar, the City Municipal Council is the sole organization

responsible for water supply. Due to improper and erratic rainfall, the

surface supplies (tanks) have dried up and presently groundwater is the

only source, which is contaminated with high Nitrate and Fluoride. People

rely on alternative sources like purchase of water from tankers, neighbour

households or drill own borewells.

Irrespective of speaking on the constraints in supplying adequate

surface water, the City Municipal Corporation is left with no choice than

relying on groundwater. Apart from this, people have made huge

investments to have their own source by drilling borewells and open

wells. In all the newly upcoming areas, drilling borewells is a common

feature. The detail on number of wells across cities has been given in

Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Estimated Number of Borewells

Sectors Hubli Dharwad Belgaum Kolar

Households 5,900 2,050 12,137 200*

CMC owned wells 1,200 501 1,663 119

Commercialestablishments 1,867 165 700 -

Total 8,967 2,716 14,500 319

* Inclusive of both households and commercial establishments

Source: Based upon field survey

The groundwater consumption by various sectors has been given

in Table 1.3. The dependency on groundwater is 51 per cent in Hubli, 30

per cent in Dharwad, 37 per cent in Belgaum and Kolar entirely depends

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on groundwater. It can be seen from the table that HDMC has tapped

its resources from groundwater to meet the increasing demand unlike

Belgaum where commercial establishments dominate.

Table 1.3: Water Utilization Across Cities (in MLD)

Key users Total water consumption

Hubli Dharwad Belgaum

Households 4.25 1.34 1.32

CMC supply 9.00 3.04 1.00

Commercialestablishments 4.12 1.01 16.73

Tankers 1.75 0.52 0.81

Total 19.0 (51) 6.0groundwater draft (30) 20.0 (37)

Note: Figures in parenthesis indicates dependency in percentage

Source: Based on field survey

It was observed that in Hubli and Dharwad, large quantities of

surface water drawn have failed to meet the increasing demand. Problems

encountered have been poor service delivery, low charges, financial

constraints, technical inefficiencies, management problems etc, that has

formed into a vicious cycle.

However, the core of Belgaum city is completely dependent on

groundwater through open wells as availability of water is plenty and

these wells were dug much before the surface water supplies. With the

expansion of the city and inadequate surface water supplies, the peripheral

areas have resorted to drilling bore wells. Apart from this, the peripheral

areas do not have groundwater in abundance compared to the core of

the city.

As said earlier, Kolar, unlike the three cities mentioned above, is

completely dependent on groundwater. Earlier, the city corporation

supplied water through the tank (Ammanni Kere), which has completely

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dried up currently due to inadequate and poor rainfall. Heavy dependency

on groundwater has led to severe contamination of water as the

borewells are being drilled to depths up to 1,000 feet.

With intense dependency on groundwater, depletion is evident

over time. A study conducted by the Department of Mines and Geology

(DMG) in Hubli and Dharwad during 2000 to 2004 indicated that depletion

was evident as water level had declined from 3.42 M to 47 M in Hubli

and 3.31M to 35.14 M in Dharwad respectively. Geologists have

highlighted the fact that continuous drought, poor rainfall, excessive

drilling of borewells as the causes for depletion. The bore well drillers

also support this view. The private water tankers have also added to

the problem in certain areas. Increased tanker business with high

extraction levels has aggravated depletion, for instance, in Keshwapur in

Hubli where the highest number of tankers are found, the water table

level has gone to 800 Ft. Similarly, in Kolar, the situation is more serious.

Groundwater report on Karnataka, brought out by the DMG, 2004, says

that the whole of Kolar is an overexploited zone falling in the ‘Dark zone’

category (Down to Earth, September 8, 2005). In Belgaum, the situation

is not different. Between 1991-92 and 2004-05, the water table across

the Belgaum district had declined by 5 to 300 M due to overexploitation.

The 1991-92 figures show that the depletion of the water table was

between 2 and 5 M in respect of open wells and 50 and 100 M in terms

of borewells. These figures changed during 2004-05 when the depletion

of the watertable in respect of open wells was between 9 and 24 M and

90 and 300 M in terms of borewells (The Hindu, June 11, 2005).

Although the City Municipal Corporations highlight rainwater

harvesting as a better alternative, nothing significant has been done to

promote it nor concerted efforts has been undertaken although the

National Water Policy 2002 emphasises this. A comparison of the status

in view of the designed policy and actual situation are revealed in Tables

1.4 and 1.5 with respect to conservation of water and groundwater

development.

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Table 1.4: Provisions for Conservation of Water in National WaterPolicy 2002

Specifics Hubli Dharwad Belgaum Kolar

Optimized efficiency utilization

Awareness Awareness Awareness Awareness Awarenesscreation creation creation creation creation

prevalent prevalent prevalent prevalent

Regulation Yes, but not Yes, but not Yes, but not Regulation ispractised practised practised initiated as a

policy butpractised incertain partsstrictly

Incentives anddisincentives No No No No

Resource Minimizing Minimizing Minimizing Partiallyconservation losses in the losses in the losses in the prevalentand conveyance conveyance conveyanceaugmentation system and system and system and

rehabilitation rehabilitation rehabilitationof existing of existing of existingsystems systems systems

Performance Working on Working on Working on Working onImprovement certain certain certain certain

aspects aspects aspects aspects

Maintenance Working on Working on Working on Working onand certain certain certain certainmodernization aspects aspects aspects aspectsof structuresand systems

Source: Based on field survey

Table 1.4 explains the limited efforts undertaken by the cities

with respect to conservation in comparison to the designed policy. In

spite of all these awareness creation efforts is at the infant stages; no

specific ways are prevalent specifying incentives or disincentives.

Conservation is limited to minimizing wastage through technical repairs

only. Performance improvement and modernization of structures and

systems have been covered on certain aspects only.

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Table 1.5: Provision for Groundwater Development in National WaterPolicy 2002

Details Hubli Dharwad Belgaum Kolar

Periodical Reassessment Reassessment Reassessment Reassessmentreassessment is done with is done with is done with is done withof groundwater observation observation observation observationpotential wells wells wells3 wells

Regulation ofgroundwaterresourceexploitation No No No Yes

Prevention ofenvironmentalconsequencesof overextraction bythe Centraland Stategovernments No No No No

Developmentandimplementationof waterrechargeprojects No No No No

Integratedandcoordinateddevelopmentof surface andgroundwaterresources No No No No

Source: a. National Water Policy, 2002b. Based on field survey

The Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnatakadoes periodical assessment of groundwater indicating warning bells to

avoid depletion. The other important areas of regulation, development

of recharge projects; prevention of environmental consequences andintegrated water resource management exists in limited ways, thus

painting a bleak picture of groundwater management.

3 Neglected open wells built during the British times were rejuvenated, 9 wellsserve 20,000 households and a population of around 1 lakh.

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Water Quality StatusWater quality refers to the physico-chemical4 and biological characteristics

of water that will influence its suitability for a specific use. The

concentration of ions depends on various factors such as geological

formations and soil types of the basin area, equilibrium conditions of the

solutes, and absorption by clay particles in suspension and biological

processes. Water to be used for drinking purpose should be free from

colour, turbidity, odour and microorganisms. Chemically, the water should

preferably be soft, low in dissolved solids, and free from poisonous

constituents. Pollution of groundwater resources has become a major

problem and pollution of air, water, and land has an effect on the

contamination of groundwater. Besides, discharge of untreated wastewater

and leachate from unscientific disposal of agriculture, industrial and

municipal solid wastes also add on.

Several studies done over different points of time on groundwater

quality have indicated contamination in Hubli and Dharwad. A study by

Hegde and Puranik (1990, and 1992) has highlighted the hardness of

groundwater and high concentration of lead and cadmium. High

concentration of Ca and Na was noticed in open wells and borewells of

the Hubli area which may be attributed to the cation exchange exhibited

by clay minerals and also sewage contamination (Hegde, et al, 1992).

Another study by Hegde and Puranik (1999) has reveled that, groundwater

in Hubli city is polluted by nitrate. The intensity of the pollution was more

in old city blocks, market areas, low lying localities and even in thickly

polluted areas. The pollution was also noticed in the wells existing adjacent

to sewage courses. Hegde and Togalmath (1999) in their study at

Hubli have highlighted concentration of Ca, Mg, Na+ and K are relatively

high in the older areas than the other areas.

4 The physical properties of water include – colour, turbidity, taste, temperature,pH and electrical conductivity. The chemical constituents include – mineral ions,gases, organic matter, Cations (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium ions)and Anions (chlorides, sulphates, bicarbonate and nitrate ions).

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In Kolar, more than 80 per cent of the children in the age

group of 6-14 suffer from skeletal and acute dental fluorosis due to

excess fluoride. Epidemiological survey has revealed that over 26,000

people suffer from dental and skeletal fluorosis and more than 39,000

people are prone to it. The fluoride concentration in groundwater of

Kolar ranges from 2.8 to 4.3 mg/L, which is far above the permissible

limits (The Times of India, 06 June 2002).

A study on the chemical characteristics of groundwater in

Malaprabha sub-basin of Belgaum District has indicated that the quality

of groundwater in the downstream region exceeds the acceptable

limits for various parameters due to excessive irrigation by excess

application of fertilizers and pesticides (Varadarajan and Purandara 2003).

In another study, groundwater has shown high concentrations of

sodium, potassium and nitrate, which has been attributed to sewage

water pollution and fertilizers, and also high concentration of total

hardness (Hanamgond, 2000). The total dissolved chemicals in

groundwater of Belgaum, Dharwad and Gulburga have exceeded 5,000

mg/l rendering the groundwater non-potable and also unsuitable for

irrigation. Also, in districts such as Kolar, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Bellary,

Raichur, Gulbarga, and Bijapur, groundwater at deeper levels is

contaminated with fluoride varying 6 to 13 ppm (Chandrashekhar, 2002).

In all the cities, detailed survey was carried out for 6430

households through structured questionnaires. Seven hundred and

fifty six representative water samples were collected in all the cities to

know the quality of groundwater. The samples were analyzed for the

fifteen5 drinking water parameters and results are indicated in Table 2.1

5 Turbidity, Colour, PH, Electrical conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Chloride,Sulphate, Fluoride, Nitrate, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Iron and Alkalinity andbacteriological parameter Most Probable Number (MPN).

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Table 2.1: Water Quality Status

Cities Number of Number of Total number ofsamples nonpotable wardsanalysed samples affected

Hubli 250 98 (39.2) 176

Dharwad 200 90 (45) 167

Belgaum 200 41 (20) 178

Kolar 137 133 (97) 31 (All wards)

Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate percentages Source: Based upon fieldsurveySource: Based on field survey

In Hubli, 39 per cent of the samples analysed were non-potable,

and it was 45 per cent in Dharwad, 22 per cent in Belgaum and 97 per

cent in Kolar. In Hubli, quality was more contaminated in the core of the

city9 . The major contaminants were turbidity, hardness, total dissolved

solids, sulphates, nitrate, calcium and coliforms in Hubli and Dharwad,

whereas in Belgaum and Kolar, water was heavily contaminated with

fluoride. In Kolar, the contamination was mainly due to the larger

depths in the groundwater table and wastewater intrusion from

households and industries. Specific details of the samples contaminated,

city-wise have been explained in Table 2.2. The effects of

contamination could be serious as indicated in Annexe 2.

6 Ward No. 49 to 667 Ward No.s 2-13, 15-188 Ward No.s 19-29, 32, 37, 39, 40, 42, 45-46, 50, 52, 56-589 (Wards – 49-61 and 63-66) compared to the outskirts (Wards – 24-40).

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Table 2.2: Number of Samples Contaminated

Physico-chemical Desirable Permissible Number of samples

parameter limits limits Dharwad Hubli Belgaum

Turbidity in NTU 5 10 17 15 19

Colour in Hazen units 5 25 0 0 1

PH 6.5 to 8.5 Not 0 0 0specified

Total Dissolved Solids mg/l 500 2000 31 23 1

Total Hardness 300 600 38 67 5(as CaCO3), mg/l

Chloride (as Cl), mg/l 250 1000 1 2 0

Sulphate (as SO4), mg/l 200 400 26 0 1

Fluoride (as F), mg/l 1.0 1.5 0 0 8

Nitrate (as NO3), mg/l 50 No 53 59 7relaxation

Calcium (as Ca), mg/l 75 200 26 51 0

Magnesium (as Mg), mg/l 30 150 0 0 0

Iron (as Fe), mg/l 0.3 1.0 1 0 0

Alkalinity, mg/l 200 600 1 0 0

MPN 0 10 19 6 0

Source: a. Department of Mines & Geologyb. Based on water quality analysis

Turbidity affected 9.3, 6.0 and 10.5 per cent of water in Dharwad,

Hubli and Belgaum respectively. Total dissolved solids (TDS) consist mainly

bicarbonates, carbonates, sulphate, chlorides and nitrates of calcium,

magnesium, sodium and potassium. The concentration of TDS was severe

in Kolar, Dharwad (18.3 per cent) and Hubli (9.2 per cent) whereas

Belgaum is free from TDS contamination. In Kolar, the number of

wards affected were 3-4, 7-10, 20-21, and 26-30. The High

concentration could result in physiological disorders. People witnessed

formation of scales, change in taste and colour.

Total hardness is another constituent that has affected the

water quality in Dharwad, Hubli and Kolar cities. In Hubli and Dharwad

the water was very hard (26.8 and 23.5 per cent respectively). Higher

levels of hardness were seen in the core of the cities where groundwater

extraction was high. In Kolar, the affected wards were 1-2, 4, 7-9, and

28-30. In addition to hardness, Kolar was heavily contaminated with

fluoride affecting four wards viz: 16, 22, 25 and 31, where as in Belgaum,

4.5 per cent of the samples showed excess fluoride and is completely

absent in Hubli and Dharwad. The reason could be attributed to the

increased depth and overdraft, resulting in excess dissolution of fluoride

into strata. In Belgaum, the peripheral areas had more bore wells with

high fluoride content, as it layered with basaltic rock which favoured

greater dissolution of fluoride containing minerals in underground surface.

Nitrate is one of the major pollutants in Hubli (23 per cent),

Dharwad (36 per cent) and Kolar. The main sources include sewage

drains and septic tanks. The number of affected wards in Dharwad

were 5 – 13 and the number of wards contaminated were 3 and 6 in

Kolar. Excess nitrate content in the water samples of well water could

be due to seepage of sewage from the surrounding vicinity and dispersal

of solid waste to the water. The contamination has seen in the centre

of the cities where dependency on groundwater was high. Presence

of coliform bacteria was seen in Hubli and Dharwad (9.5 per cent) in the

range 11 to 1800 MPN/100ml, which indicates sewage contamination.

The reason could be presence of septic tanks near these wells leading

to sewage intrusion as all open tank samples showed contamination.

In Kolar, one or other parameters had exceeded its permissible

limits in each ward. The most affected parameter was sodium, which

was contaminated in 17 wards (55 per cent), bicarbonate 12 wards (39

per cent), chlorine and calcium had affected in 9 wards (30 per cent).

Based on the National Water Policy 2002 provisions on quality

parameters, comparison was made with respect to the study cities in

Table 2.3

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Table 2.3: Provisions for Water Quality in National Water Policy 2002

Details Hubli Dharwad Belgaum Kolar

Improvements in Partially Partially Partiallyexisting strategies done done done No

Innovation of newtechniques toeliminate pollution No No No Yes

Regular monitoring Yes Yes Yesof both surface (for surface (for surface (for surfaceand groundwater water) water) water) No

Treatment ofeffluents beforedischarging intonatural streams No No No No

“Polluter pays’principle formanagementof polluted water. No No No No

Legislation to prevent Law exists Law exists Law exists Law existsencroachment and but imple- but imple- but imple- but imple-deterioration of mentation mentation mentation mentationwater quality is poor is poor is poor is poor

Source: a. National Water Policy, 2002 b. Based upon field survey

Efforts have been made towards improving existing strategies

and Kolar has defluoridation plants. Surface water monitoring has been

done in all the cities but not applicable to Kolar as they had no surface

water supplies. None of the cities had provision for treatment of neither

effluents nor any policy on charging the polluter, which certainly had

aggravated the problem. Although laws were prevalent to address

deterioration of water quality, implementation was poor in all the cities.

The seriousness of the problem has already been discussed above,

thus calling for immediate action.

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Emerging Issues

Declining Quality

Among the four cities studied, Kolar faced serious impacts of fluoride and

nitrate contamination throughout the city unlike in Hubli, Dharwad and

Belgaum. People flocked to the hospitals with complaints of joint pain,

tooth corrosion and fatigue. While the rich had the capacity to purchase

mineral water, the poor were left with no choice. Recent studies by DMG,

on water quality has indicated that water was highly contaminated with

fluoride and nitrates and Kolar is classified under Dark Zone where

utilisation quantity was more than 85 per cent. Depths have reached up

to 1000 ft. There are intensive irrigation activities around the periphery

(or conurbation boundary) of Kolar town. The land use/land cover pattern

of Kolar town had changed tremendously over a period of time. The

agricultural activities on the upstream side of the tanks had intensified

and also the usage of modern farming techniques.

In Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum, currently people are not

experiencing the immediate need as no serious impacts have been noticed

prominently. One of the reasons is that the groundwater is used only for

usage and not for drinking and no quality testing is done to see the

impacts of water on health by any particular agency, hence, nothing

supports the health ailments to water.

Flourishing Water Markets

Packaged drinking water has captured a large market relatively over the

years. Demand for packaged drinking water has been definitely on the

increase as opined by the packaged water distributors of Hubli, Dharwad

and Belgaum. Irrespective of the company the sales go up during summer

for all companies while it dips during rainy and winter seasons. Tankers

constitute another important actor in the trade. Around 100 tankers

thrive in the cities. The market is also characterized by some malfunctioning

19

related to lack of regulation and control, while the companies are not

registered, regulations on quality control are nil. Kolar also thrives on the

same lines.

Table 3.1: Growing Water Markets

Cities Packaged drinking water Water supplied throughtankers in MLD

Quantity Turnover in Off Peakof water sold Crores per season seasonin MLD annumper annum

Hubli 3.28 2.4 1.75 7.26

Dharwad 0.21 1.0 0.52 4.37

Belgaum 2.4 3.0 2.52 4.2

Kolar - - 0.135 -

Source: Based on field survey

Higher the water scarcity, higher will be the business for borewell drilling

companies. All over the state, a large number of borewell drilling

companies have been established in recent years. Sadly, none of the

borewell drilling companies is made accountable on the number of

borewells drilled, the extent of drilling or any rules. However, the city

corporation makes it compulsory for any customer to take the permission

before drilling a borewell which is an appreciative effort taken to regulate

these borewell companies in study cities but not religiously followed.

Migratory drilliers, mostly from Tamil Nadu make roaring business as

they drill for less cost comparatively.

Bagepalli taluk in a low rainfall area of Kolar district has some

20 agencies dealing with borewells. 20 borewell agencies together garner

Rs.2.1 million annually. Bagepalli taluk spends Rs.120.25 million annually

just on drilling borewells. One of the major reason for this booming

business is high rate of failure, which is up to 60 per cent, up from 30-40

per cent a few years ago. Declining groundwater and high failure rate

20

helps local business, though it deprives farmer’s kitty. Increasingly farmers

are borrowing funds for wells and a few of them resort to suicides, we

were told, when debt mounts up beyond their capacity (Raju, 2004). In

Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum, situation is not as worse. The annual

average turnover is up to 5.5 lakhs in Hubli and Dharwad put together.

Although all the drilling companies mentioned that their profits ranged

between Rs. 2,000 and 5,000 per well, it is important to understand the

actual profits derived.

Unreliable Water SupplyWater supply from the authorities has been poorly managed with

inefficiencies in frequency, duration and quantity. Public are left with

little choice and hence, depend on own sources through drilling borewells.

However, open wells are still prevalent in some of the areas, which are in

use even to this day. Instances where people have made their own

arrangements in managing water, thus group wells are commonly found.

In short, people have made their own institutional arrangements in terms

of rules, regulations and sharing finances to procure water. While the

high-income groups have invested more in such situations, low-income

groups have invested on storage gadgets. Interestingly, people did not

complain of shortage of water, probably, people had got used to the fact

of storing water and the frequency of water supply was better

comparatively, which meant a lot of relief. In Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum,

people were not keen to have 24 hours of supply throughout the week as

they were not willing to bear the charges, which would also be hiked in

comparison to the low charges they are paying currently. People who

had set up their own system did not feel the need for it. However, there

were some people who did mention that, they had no choice and adapted

to the prevalent system. Comparing the standards as prescribed in the

National Water Policy 2002 with the cities, the status has been shown in

Table 3.2

21

Table 3.2: Provisions for Drinking Water in National Water Policy 2002

Details Hubli Dharwad Belgaum Kolar

Providing adequate Safe Safe Safe Safeand safe drinking drinking drinking drinking drinkingwater facilities to water is water is water is water isthe entire urban provided provided provided providedand rural but but but butpopulation inadequate inadequate inadequate inadequate

and limited

Irrigation andmultipurposeprojects to includea drinking watercomponent whenno other source Notis there Yes Yes Yes applicable

Emphasis on Attempts Attempts Yet to be Yet to befinancial and are being are done donephysical made madesustainability

Participatoryapproach to waterresourcesmanagement No No No No

Private sectorparticipationshould beencouraged No No No No

Source: a. National Water Policy, 2002

b. Based on field survey

Management Issues - Poor Co-ordination BetweenDepartments

In Hubli and Dharwad water management was managed by two agencies.

This led to interdependence, co-ordination problems and conflicts among

the agencies during execution of work. New areas were given permission

for development without providing adequate infrastructure. In short, there

is no co-ordination between departments. This led to various implications

22

in terms of wasted investments by both public and private agencies.

While the finances were dealt by the State, the bulk supply by the

KUWSDB, and the operation and maintenance were by the HDMC. It was

difficult to see any one of the agencies having an overview. Rather each

agency blamed the other for inefficiency and is a cause for ineffectiveness

in working. Although efforts are made to resolve at times, the impact

seemed to be minimal. Implications of problems in one agency had

triggered the problem in another. With the handling over of both bulk

supply and distribution to the consumer point the KUWSDB, it will be

interesting to see positive changes. However, in Belgaum, there seemed

to be conflict among the agencies in shifting responsibilities to a single

agency and was getting postponed. In Kolar, although a single agency

was dealing with water management, they had serious issues that need

to be resolved - poor database, shortage of staff, overworked existing

staff, negligence of technical matters, and poor revenue collection.

Technical InefficienciesTechnical inefficiencies were encountered at various points and levels.

Quality of system executed does not meet the standards. Proper

precautions were not taken at various stages. Although some of the

problems could not be solved, a majority of them could be solved, for

instance, the original capacity to lift water was 150 MLD, where as the

pumping capacity is only to the extent of 100 MLD while the rest was lost

in leakage. Filtered and chlorinated water was wasted and used in

agricultural lands. Presently, worn out machinery triggered fresh

investments to function well. Leakage (unaccounted for water) was a

problem right from the beginning of inception of the project. Though

huge investments were made to draw surface water from long distances,

leakages were obviously leading to huge quantities of wastage. This, in

turn, does not serve the purpose in terms of service or usage. Little care

was taken to rectify small repairs with respect to taps by the department.

Poor network further caused distributional problems, inequitable

distribution and aided illegal connections. It became difficult to supply

23

water everyday particularly because the network was old and to make

it feasible lot of supporting staff and finances were required. Added

to all this, lack of skilled staff in handling technical problem aggravated

the situation. On the other hand people’s callous attitude when water

was supplied prove that water was mismanaged.

Absence of Sewage Treatment FacilitiesHubli, Dharwad and Belgaum have partial underground drainage (UGD)

system to dispose domestic wastewater. UGD covers about 65 per cent in

Hubli, 25 per cent in Dharwad, and 60 per cent in Belgaum. Peripheral

areas and revenue pockets within the CMC limit have no sewerage facilities.

They largely depend on individual septic tanks for their domestic

wastewater disposal. In Hubli, the network covers part of south, west

and central area. In Dharwad, only the central area is sewered (9 -12

wards). As these cities are not served by sewage treatment plants, the

untreated wastewater is being discharged into natural water bodies, tanks

and lakes. The toilets of individual houses are connected to septic tanks

with soak pits. The soak pits are not so effective in dispersion of effluent

to subsurface and hence, the overflow of wastewater from septic tanks

into storm water drain is a common phenomenon. Sewage flowing in

storm water drains and open lands poses environmental problems like

contamination of water bodies and groundwater sources apart from poor

aesthetics, foul smell and related water borne diseases. In Hubli, few

farmers pump raw sewage for irrigation. The implications on health of

the farmers, on agriculture have not been addressed.

Poor Public Awareness

Capturing from people’s perspectives on water management, it is still

seen as the responsibility of the government as people lack a sense of

belonging. Irrespective of facing scarcity of water, people tend to waste

water on the days of supply (water is supplied once in five days). The

habit of spilling away all the stored water is prominently noticed as people

have a tendency or psychological satisfaction of storing fresh water. Taps

24

are not closed properly after usage both at the households as well as

public stand posts. With no meters working, although installed, people

tend to waste water as they pay flat charges.

Lately, several initiatives are being undertaken by KUWSDB

to create awareness (Hubli and Dharwad) among the public about the

efficient use of water. Clear and informative charts have been displayed

in the KUWSDB office. The brochures have been printed in the local

language for easy understanding. The posters highlight the action to be

taken seriously with respect to illegal connections, immediate payment

of arrears, last date to pay water bills, water meters to be checked and

reinstalled and co-operative efforts for water management. Payment

charges for household connections and commercial connections, price

variations, new connections, repair costs for specific activities and related

details have been pasted on walls making it clear and easy for

communication. There are brochures given for easy understanding if

consumers require them. Announcements by auto about paying water

charges and legalising illegal connections were made. Awareness creation

programmes were conducted at Hubli about conserving ground water

and promoting rainwater harvesting.

WHO GuidelinesWHO advises national and local drinking water regulators, enterprises

and organizations around the world about the challenge of providing

safe drinking water. WHO’s updated Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality

(GDWQ) will help regulators and water service providers the world over

to maintain and improve the quality of their drinking water. An attempt

has been made to address the status of the study cities in view of the

guidelines specified as explained in Table 3.3.

25

Table 3.3: Provisions for Drinking Water in the National Water Policy 2002WHO Standards Hubli Dharwad Belgaum KolarControl of Microbial contamination Yes Yes Yes YesControl of disinfections Yes Yes Yes YesMonitoring Monitoring Monitoring Monitoring Yes

for smallsamplesize

Remedial action for chemical contaminants No10 No10 No10 PartialHealth risk due to naturally occurring Not Not Not Notradionuclides should be considered applicable applicable applicable applicableConducting investigation if a majority Yes Yes Yes Yesof the community complains on taste,odour or appearanceIntegrated management approachcollaborating all relevant agencies No No No NoSurveillance through continuous publichealth assessment Review of safety andacceptability of drinking water supplies No No No NoFour areas of focus to protect publichealth througha) Surveillance of health status and trends No No No Nob) Establishment of norms and standards Yes Yes Yes Yesc) Representing health concerns in wider

policy development Yes Yes Yes Yesd) Direct action through subsidiary bodies

or guidance through local entities No No No NoManagement of catchments inspection Yes (onlyand authorization of activities, for surface Notverifying and auditing. water) Yes Yes applicableSpecific guidance to communities/individuals in designing and implementing No No No NoQuality assurance and control Yes Yes Yes PartialImplementation of water safety plans No No No NoActive involvement of communities foreffective and sustainable programmes No No No NoSurveillance programmes througheducation programmes No No No NoProviding guidance to consumers to avoidtechnical inefficiencies and contaminationat households through educationprogrammes No No No No

Source: a. WHO Guidelines, 2004b. Based on field survey

10 Samples indicated nitrate and hardness of water quality, however since people donot consume groundwater in Hubli and Dharwad health effects were not observed.

26

It can be observed from the above table that efforts towards controlling

microbial contamination, disinfections and responding to public during

crisis was prevalent in all the cities. Some efforts in monitoring were

indicated but insignificant as it covered small sample size. Remedial

actions towards chemical contaminants were not addressed in these cities.

For instance, as Kolar is facing serious health impacts of Fluoride and

Nitrate contamination like joint pain, tooth corrosion and fatigue, no proper

treatment had been adopted for supplied water except the application of

bleaching powder without any guidelines. No proper training has been

provided to the worker who operates the De-fluoridation plant. However,

in Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum, currently people are not experiencing

the serious impact, as the groundwater is not used for drinking purpose.

It is important to analyse water quality frequently and to study the impact

on health by concerned agencies.

The system was blatantly weak on integrated management

approach involving all relevant agencies, communities and individuals in

designing and implementing; public health assessment and implementing

water safety plans. Awareness creation and guidance to consumers is

still in the infant stage. Unless all the dimensions are covered

simultaneously, results would remain feeble.

ConclusionThe Government and the public have invested heavily on creating and

maintaining of assets for tapping groundwater mainly because of the

unreliable and inadequate water supply. It is not only the capital cost but

also more so the recurring O&M besides the coping costs. The public has

been forced to look for alternative arrangements for meeting the water

requirements without even questioning the authorities concerned. This,

in turn, has made more provision for water business with poor regulations

on exploitation. There is adverse impact on the local environment due to

the indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. Quality impacts on the

27

environment and health of the people have been awfully neglected

with poor evidence. It is imperative that a holistic approach towards

water management is implemented as per the designed guidelines.

The matter requires serious attention of the policy makers,

environmentalists, academicians, NGOs and concerned citizens as a

coordinated effort to make the water institutions accountable.

Annex 1Study Area – An Overview

Cities Location Altitude Population Population Number Numberin metres in lakhs density of ofabove (2001 (persons house- wardsMSL census) per Km2) holds

in lakhs

Hubli Northwestern part ofKarnataka at Northlatitude 15o 91 to 15o141

and east longitudeof 75o151 to 75o 361 670.75 5.21 4,647 1.04 45

Dharwad Northwestern part ofKarnataka at Northlatitude 15o191 to 15o

141 and east longitudeof 75o151 to 75o 361 762.19 2.64 4,647 0.52 22

Belgaum Located at longitudeof 74o 301 and latitude15o 511 710 3.99 4,200 0.91 58

Kolar Between 120461 and130581 north latitude 831.15 1.13 445 0.29 31and 770211 and 780351 persons/east longitude. ha

28

Annex 2

Impacts of Contamination

Physico-ChemicalParameter Possible Impacts

Turbidity in NTU Unsuitable for domestic purposes because it causes stains onclothes, sinks etc. Makes treatment difficult and costlydue toincrease in chemical coagulation costs and increased cleaningof filters.

PH It affects the taste, corrosivity, efficiency of chlorination, andtreatment process such as coagulation. Low pH increasescorrosive action of water.

Total Dissolved Solids High concentration could result in physiological disorders. Alsoresults on formation of scales and interface with the taste andcolour.

Total Hardness The hardness is responsible for the formation of incrustation in(as CaCO3), mg/l utensils, scales in boilers, hot water pipes and heaters.

Chloride Produces a salty taste to the water disease of heart or kidneys(as Cl), mg/l

Sulphate Imparts a bitter taste to the water. Sulphate as magnesium(as SO4), mg/ sulpahte causes laxarive effects to children particularly in hot

weather.

Fluoride (as F), mg/l Cause mottled tooth enamel in children and adults

Nitrate Causes poisoning in infant animals including humans(as NO3), mg/l (methemoglobinemia). The disease “cyanosis” in which the

haemoglobin apparently becomes incapable of transportingoxygen is also attributed to high concentration of nitrate.

Calcium (as Ca), mg/l Undesirable for household uses such as a washing bathing andlaundering because of the consumption of more soap and othercleaning agents.

Magnesium High concentration causes unpleasant smell to the water and(as Mg), mg/l have laxative effects to children in combination with sulphate

salts.

Iron (as Fe), mg/l One of the troublesome minerals and high levels leaves brownstains on porcelain, clothes.

Microorganisms Causes water borne diseases like Hepatitis, cholera, typhoid,diarrhoeal, etc

29

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